The Poetry of Apollo

On July 20, 1969, man first set foot upon the Moon. The project that took us to the Moon was called Apollo, ostensibly after the Greek god associated with hunting, harmony, and healing.

Perhaps the folks over at NASA had sense of humour, or maybe God the poet was at work again, for July 20 is also the memorial of Saint Apollinaris.

Saint Apollinaris was born in Antioch, where he was ordained a Bishop by Saint Peter. He served as a missionary in eastern Italy during the reign of the Emperor Claudius.

He became Bishop of Ravenna, a city of perhaps 30,000 people which would eventually become the capital of the Western Empire.

Apollinaris quickly made a name for himself as a healer. His name may have had something to do with it – it’s probably easier to remember a healer named after a healing god than, say, a healer named Plutonius.

Many miracles were ascribed to him, which brought him to the attention of the Imperial authorities. He was exiled, tortured, and imprisoned for the faith. After several rounds of this, he was martyred, probably by being run through with a sword.

This optional memorial is relatively new to the USA liturgical calendar. It was dropped from the General Roman Calendar during the calendar reforms in 1968, just a year before Apollo 11 landed on the Moon. Apparently, Apollinaris wasn’t going to take his holiday’s removal lying down!

I am often amused by God’s poetry, facilitated no doubt in this case by folks who saw the connections and ran with them.